Documentary film in the context of non-governmental organizations and comminication strategies within the framework of postcolonialism: The case of Mercy Ships

The Western-centric narrative continues to prevail prominently in the present day. Modernism strengthens the Western-centric narrative as a dominant force in the political, economic, and cultural domains of social structures in different geographies. The projections of the Western-centric narrative are still seen during the postcolonial era as well. Non-governmental organizations strive to construct a living space within the social order for various purposes. Each organization achieves its goals within the framework of political, cultural, and economic objectives. Therefore, it is a priority to make their own thoughts and identities visible, present them in the universal sphere, and convince the public for its functionality and objectives. The use of documentary film, which has a preconception of authenticity in the viewer's mind and viewing habits, serves this purpose. The representational structure within documentary films and the discourse it carries contribute to the effectiveness of the narrative. This study focuses on the documentary film The Surgery Ship (2015), which depicts the activities of the non-governmental organization Mercy Ships in Africa. The study examines how the activities of the non-governmental organization are presented through the documentary film, the construction of the representational structure in the documentary, and the discourse it carries within the framework of postcolonial theory. The aim of the study is to analyze the representation of Mercy Ships, which operates in Africa, a continent that the West otherizes and assimilates, based on the documentary narrative grounded in the organization's humanitarian presence, and to evaluate the organization's use of the documentary as a communication strategy to make its own identity and actions visible. The scope of the study is the feature-length documentary film The Surgery Ship, which was broadcast on the mainstream media documentary channel National Geographic in 2015. The study utilizes critical discourse analysis, adapting van Dijk's method and Abisel's story and discourse distinction in a macro and micro scale for the analysis of films. The conclusion of the study reveals that the documentary film incorporates the characteristics of a participatory, observational, and explanatory style, utilizing these to enhance the audience's perception of reality and credibility. Consequently, it is observed that the representational structure and discourse of the documentary construct the Western-centric narrative, while presenting the values of the non-governmental organization in alignment with it. It is determined that the documentary can be used as a tool within the communication strategy of the organization to disseminate its activities to a wide audience and make itself visible.